


The World Will Live (You Can Rest)

by FuckingSadBoi



Series: Nico Is Baby And i'm Sorry For What I Do To Him [1]
Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan
Genre: Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Gen, He need a father, Italian Nico di Angelo, Nico di Angelo Needs a Hug, Nico di Angelo Speaks Italian, Nico di Angelo has Nightmares, Nico di Angelo-centric, Nico is like 10, Sad Nico di Angelo, THIS BITCH DELETED ALL MY HARD WORK, WHY NOT FUCK OVER NICO EMOTIONALLY!!!, anyway, fuck you ao3, no beta we die like men, parental figure for Nico
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-21
Updated: 2020-03-21
Packaged: 2021-02-28 20:00:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,355
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23162902
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FuckingSadBoi/pseuds/FuckingSadBoi
Summary: Bianca died while Nico was asleep. How can he go to sleep again without thinking someone will die because of him?The answer, he doesn't.
Relationships: Nico Di Angelo/Happiness - Relationship, Nico Di Angelo/Stable life
Series: Nico Is Baby And i'm Sorry For What I Do To Him [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1665019
Comments: 10
Kudos: 67





	The World Will Live (You Can Rest)

**Author's Note:**

> Bianca died somewhere is Arizona. So Nico was like, 3 hours ahead. IDK when Bianca died, but here she died at night.

Prompt; “No pressure, honest. It’s not like the world is depending on you or anything.”

* * *

Nico swung his legs over the rail of the random apartment building. He sat on the cold rail, letting the cold form goosebumps under his pants. His low, warm breath leaving a visible huff of air. The dark grey clouds rumbled and growled above him, thunder and lightning illuminating the clouds and world for a few seconds. His black, clunky boots swung in the air above the busy streets.

He stared down at the people running and arguing. Holding nothing, or too much. They ran the streets despite the sun not going to come up for hours. He let his gaze turn behind him, watching the deserted roof. the dark, dusty area only illuminated by a single, flickering light bulb hanging above the door. He stared for a second, turning to face the streets again. 

He let the cold, polluted air of New York fill his lungs. His dirty black hair laid in strings over his eyes, greasy from days with no shower to clean it. His eyes roamed the dirty, crumbling rail around him. He let out the air, feeling his chest struggle under the effort it took. His eyes roamed the ground once more, staring through hazed and blurry lenses.

A loud sound from behind shook him from his mind. Loud footsteps made their way up the stairs, echoing Nico's head despite the loudness of the rest of the world. His hands twitched over his sword, tense and ready. He didn't blink, he didn't breath. A monster could kill you in the time it took to blink. 

The door opened slowly, careful not to slam into the wall. The light still shook and swung above the door anyway, flickering for a few seconds. In the place of the assumed monster stood a regular mortal. Black hair and light brown eyes, a large hoodie and sweatpants, a relaxed posture and easy movements. Nico stared for a second, letting his hand move away from his sword, the man wasn't a threat.

"Who are you?" He asked, his voice blurting out a question despite himself. His shoulders drew together, tense and scared. The man stared, startled for a few seconds. Then they relaxed again, smiling warmly at him. Using all their teeth in an oddly warm way, "I'm Kory. And you are?"

Their soft voice made him stop, let him calm down for a second. He still scrutinized the man, his eyes searching for a weapon. he gave up half-way, meeting the man's soft gaze with his own calculating one. Their eyes were a bronze glow, nice and warm. He let himself breathe for a second and found his voice again. "I'm Nico."

He let his gaze drop, unnerved by the kind look he got. he let himself finish the search, finding nothing. He stared at the man's black sneakers as they made a slow approach toward him. They swung over the rail, and they were an arm's length away.

Neither moved, and neither spoke. Not for a minute, leaving both in comfortable silence. Then Kory's soft voice was carried toward him by the wind, leaving a warm feeling in his chest and a cold feeling on his body. "So, kid. Why are you up here?"

"I'm not a kid," Nico said, shifting closer to the man's warmth slowly. "And I'm up here because- I dunno. Because I can." 

Kory snorted, making no move to get away. He turned his head a little, staring down at Nico with his kind eyes. "You're like five." Kory's hands radiated warmth, and when one ruffled his hair, Nico gave a tiny laugh and swatted it away reluctantly. "And that response, 'because I can.', is totally something a little kid would say."

Nico slid closer to Kory, feeling warmth despite how harsh the winds around him were. He pouted for a few seconds, before watching Kory's expression through the side of his eye. "So why are you here?" Kory moved slightly, his larger body taking the brunt of the cold. Their eyes met again, with no sign of the hostility Nico had grown so accustomed to seeing. He dropped his gaze again, squirming a bit.

Kory sighed a peaceful sound. "Well, I live a few floors down for one. And secondly," The nice bronze eyes moved from Nico to watch the stars above them. The faint stars glittered despite the size, and suddenly Nico didn't feel as cold. "I couldn't sleep."

Nico startled for a second, not really expecting that. He stared at Kory for a second, his meek voice almost lost in the sounds of New York. "Why not? You seem," He hesitated for a second, shifting away slightly. "Relaxed, like sleep comes easy."

Kory stared down at him for a second, his eyes shining with an emotion Nico wasn't sure he recognized. Or maybe he just didn't want to recognize it. Either way, Kory was silent. "Yeah. I've been told." Kory scooted closer to him, his warmth making Nico feel bad for being so cold. "But sometimes the nights don't come easy. Like they'd rather leave me suffocating in darkness than living in light. Like even my dreams have some vendetta against me."

"I feel like, in some strange way, you'd understand that." Their legs both swung in the dark. He didn't know if them having so much in common was a good thing. "And you're a kid. God, that's messed up."

A few minutes of silence, a silence that Nico wanted t fill but couldn't. Luckily, he didn't have to. "I guess I'll ask again. Why are you up here, kid?"

Nico let himself breathe again, taking in a deep breath before answering. The man was honest, and Nico wanted to trust that they'd understand. "Nightmares. About my sister. About mon-my family's hectic mess.'

Another breath. He could do this. He didn't have to, but he wanted to. Kory would understand, he just knew Kory would. "My mom died while my sister and I were asleep. Then my sister died in Arizona, while I slept. It seems like everyone I love dies when I can't do anything to help. It makes it hard. Sleeping, I mean."

Kory rubbed his back soothingly, letting Nico calm down from the sudden sad state he was in. His eyes burned, and there were tears that were making his lips salty. His nose clogged up as he tried to stop. He bit his tongue, trying to ground himself. "Shh, it''s okay." The words were supposed to calm him, but suddenly all his bottled up emotions forced their way out.

Kory moved them both, instead of the slightly dangerous position of hanging off the railing, they were on the roof's floor. He hugged Nico, his size difference made him a warm and soft person to cry against. He hiccuped against their shoulder, his voice wavering as he spoke. "And suddenly every one of them is scared of- of me. Like I'm a monster. But I'm 10- I'm 10. And they want me to be strong and there's- just so much pressure to be this- this perfect son. and-"

The warm arms that Kory had wrapped around him gave a light squeeze. "It's okay, Nico. They aren't here. You're okay. There is no pressure."

"But-"Nico said, his voice hitching as he spoke.

“No pressure, honest. It’s not like the world is depending on you or anything.” Kory said, soothingly. Nico sobbed against him again and wrapped his shaking arms around Kory. "You can sleep. Everyone will be okay."

"Promise?" Nico asked, suddenly exhausted. His voice spoke softly against the warm chest, and he moved closer sluggishly. Kory hummed softly, "Promise. It's okay. You can rest."

Nico nodded, letting himself sleep for once.

* * *

Nico woke up to the light of the sun glaring down through green curtains. He hissed loudly, covering his eyes with the couch's pillow. He hesitantly raised his arm, blinking rapidly to get the sleep out of his eyes.

The world was loud, but it was New York. It doesn't mean it didn't give him a massive headache.

Slowly, eyes roaming everywhere, he sat up cautiously on the black couch. The warm, fluffy, green blanket that was wrapped around him started dragging off his shoulders so he bunched it up on his hands and set it around him. He relished in the warmth of the blanket, head perking up as he heard footsteps coming closer. He stared unblinkingly at the doorway, moving to hold his ... where was his sword?

He stood up, the blanket falling behind him and leaving him with chills. He frantically searched the room, pacing around on the heel of his feet to his toes. he turned around quickly, his body feeling strange in a sword fighting position when he didn't have a sword. 

There stood the stranger he cried on. Kory something, a random mortal who now had him defenseless. He wanted to raise the dead, wanted to force the shadows to take him anywhere. But they were unreliable, and now he was face to face with his ... doom? Friend? Who really was Kory? Was he some Kronos minion. He should have never trusted him.

"Where is it." He demanded, not taking his eyes off Kory. He stared, his eyes stinging but he stared nonetheless. "Why did you take it?"

Kory carefully took a step forward, raising his arms in a placid motion. "Hey, it's alright. Calm down. Your pretty sword is fine." Dear gods, he could have just gotten himself killed. 

_Di immortals_ , this random stranger was probably gonna kill him. Why was that just registering now!?! He should have known better. He was a child of Hades for fate's sake, no one _actually cared._ He was so naive to think someone understood. He'd die at their hands before being able to even try to save Bianca. 

_Mamma lo avrebbe ucciso se avesse saputo che era andato a casa di uno sconosciuto._

"Hey, hey." Kory said, now hugging him in a strangely warm hug. "It's okay. You're safe. It's okay." 

How could he say that, as far as Nico knew Kory would kill him. And he'd never even get to tell Percy how much of a _Maleducato idiota che non mantiene le sue promesse_ he is.

"Son of Morpheus." Kory said, soothingly and softly. "You don't need to worry about monsters, my apartment is... _protected_ by monsters. And I'm... _neutral_ , I guess, in the war. If that's what you're wondering. My place is a safe space, so to speak, for anyone."

"As long as their not some sort of mass murderer or person hell bent on destroying New York."As Kory continued speaking, Nico blinked, letting himself calm down before he instantly jumped to conclusions. Nico interrupted Kory, coughing softly as he realized how parched he was. "What about the rest of the America? And the rest of the world?'

Kory didn't hesitate to answer, releasing Nico from his warm prison, which he sort of, maybe, kinda-definitely wanted to stay in. "Most of America deserves it, and the rest of the world seem better than here, so like anywhere else in America is fine. Except maybe Illinois, I kinda always wanted to go there before. I heard they have a giant bean there." Nico snorted, pulling his knees in to hide his face. His pants were all fluffy and warm, with nice cloud patterns on them that Nico liked, even though there were rainbows all over them. Actually, when did he put them on?

"Um, Kory,"Nico said, sheepishly staring at Kory. "When did I change?"

The taller male smiled, his nice teeth blinding and making Nico feel like he just got a hug from his dad. "It's a simple spell actually. One of Hecate's kids taught it to me a few years back, at the Hermes cabin. It's like manipulating the mist, only slightly easier." Nico blinked up at him, his childishness lighting up his eyes and making them like a dark chocolate, all warm and gooey. Yet still bright.

"Magic?"He asked, dropping his knees eagerly as he waited for their answer. "Real magic? Also, Hermes cabin? You've been to Camp Half-Blood? Wait, that's not important right now. About magic, how does it work? Do you need some sort of blessing? How'd you get it? Can I do magic? Would I have to do a quest?Or maybe a-"

"One question at a time, kid." Kory said, ruffing his hair and watching him with the same kind eyes that made Nico feel safe. Like he was home. " So, yes _real magic._ Crazy, impossible to believe. I know." They said, exaggerating his voice and finishing with a fake, sad sigh. "So I was walking by the climbing-rock-wall-thing, is that even still around?, it is, sweet. So i was walking by and I see-"

Nico laid down on the couch, feeling oddly safe. Letting the warm feeling of happiness, something he hasn't felt in weeks, wash over him. He sighed happily, despite the alarm he still felt.

He had no reason to believe Kory, but he wanted to. It was just a gut feeling. Besides, he was feeling tired. Maybe he'd just sleep.

After all, the world wasn't depending on him. He could sleep if he wanted to.

* * *

The soft sound of Kory's voice quieted half-way through his story. Kory watched Nico fall asleep against his couch again, and he smiled. Covering Nico in the blanket he had previously dropped, he tucked him in gently and turned to leave. 

"Kory." Nico said. His face was torn between fear and anger, and he just knew it was a nightmare.

He turned around, staring softly at the tiny kid. Nico mumbled again. "How do I know no one will die tonight?" Kory sighed sadly, hating that Nico had to be scared about that.

:"No one will. It's okay." Kory said, kneeling next to the couch. He gave a soft kiss to Nico's temple, using what little control over dreams that he had to help Nico. "The world will live. You can rest, kid."

**Author's Note:**

> i regret nothing and everything simultaneously. I'm sorry Nico, Kory, and everyone who read.  
> Also if you have not realized, this is so that I don't have to write any other fic this or next month! Beccause, um- Corona? No, yeah. Just don't want to.
> 
> Kory might just be Nico's new dad now, but like i might make more fic about them. Like imagine Kory having to bring Nico like, his sword or sumthing, and Nico hasn't gotten it and he shouldn't ST so Kory drives to camp to give it to him. But like, Kory is basically Nico's dad. And Nico is a soft son, and people are freaking out. "WTF, who are you and what have you done to scary-brooding-IAMDARKNESSFEARME- Di Angelo!" because Nico is hugging someone, and smiling, and LAUGHING! and that makes peoples hearts go UWU because Nico is adorable and friendly when around Dad(AKA Kory). And, HOW DO WE GET HIM TO STAY BECAUSE WE NEED MORE OF (gestures to Happy Nico) THAT!
> 
> okay, I may have a new fic idea.
> 
> DAD JOKE OF THE FIC:  
> Why is Dwayne Johnson's shadow not aware of recent news?
> 
> Its been living under a rock


End file.
